ADJUDICATION: COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS AND SEVERANCE

In Cleveland Bridge (UK) Ltd v Whessoe-Volker Stevin Joint Venture [2010] EWHC 1076 (TCC), [2010] All ER (D) 206 (May) Mr Justice Ramsey held that the contract between the parties consisted in part of construction operations within s105(1) of the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and in part of operations which did not amount to construction operations because they fell within the exclusion in s105(2)(c)(ii). Insofar as the adjudicator purported to deal in her decision with matters that fell within the latter exclusion, she had no jurisdiction to do so and this rendered her decision unenforceable. The dispute that had been submitted to adjudication was a single dispute and it was held not to be possible to sever a part of it in order to enforce that part of the decision that related to matters over which the adjudicator did have jurisdiction.